Organic Universe

Saturday, February 7, 2015

A Warning About Cinder Block or Concrete Masonry Gardens

Cinder block gardens have recently become very popular, however a risk
of heavy metal poisons from Fly Ash within the concrete may pose a
serious threat to the health of an organic garden, leeching toxins into
the soil and the plants themselves.

Cinder blocks to build raised beds and also to plant directly inside the cells of this block are being promoted on Youtube videos
and gardening sites. However, there is a strong possibility of poisons
in the construction of these products that should deter anyone from
using them to grow food.

The product Fly Ash is used as a Portland Cement replacement for up to
30% of the cement used to manufacture these products. For those of you
unaware, Fly Ash is generally captured by electrostatic precipitators
or other particle filtration equipment before the flue gases reach the
chimneys of coal-fired power plants, and together with bottom ash
removed from the bottom of the furnace is in this case jointly known as
coal ash.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has little power to restrict any chemical,
but they've been investigating whether or not to label Fly Ash as a
Hazardous Waste due to the high levels of heavy metals including
arsenic, lead, mercury,
cadmium, chromium and selenium, as well as aluminum, antimony, barium,
beryllium, boron, chlorine, cobalt, manganese, molybdenum, nickel,
thallium, vanadium, and zinc, leaving some "Industry Folk" to refer to
concrete as the "New Asbestos" or the "New Lead Paint".

The EPA has found that living next to a coal ash
disposal site can increase your risk of cancer or other diseases. If you
live near an unlined wet ash pond (surface impoundment) and you get
your drinking water from a well, you may have as much as a 1 in 50
chance of getting cancer from drinking arsenic-contaminated water.
Arsenic is one of the most common, and most dangerous, pollutants from
coal ash. The EPA also found that living near ash ponds increases the
risk of damage from cadmium, lead, and other toxic metals.

Despite the EPA knowing fully well that this product is unhealthy,
after five and a half years of proposals, reworking and review of
450,000-plus comments, the EPA issued a final ruling fly ash could be
safely processed and recycled. The ruling shocked many, especially since
the use had trended negatively against historical patterns since the
agency initiated management and disposal rulemaking in June 2009.

The process of creating cement locks these poisons into the blocks,
but it is assumed that the blocks will be sealed and waterproofed, but
even that process is toxic. These poisons will leech these materials
into the soil and any plants in proximity. They should only be used for
areas containing ornamental plantings only, and never for food crops.

John Summerlyis
nutritionist, herbologist, and homeopathic practitioner. He is a
leader in the natural health community and consults athletes,
executives and most of all parents of children on the
benefits of complementary therapies for health and
prevention.

Healthesound.info

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